Last night Smirnoff sponsored an event in Manhattan featuring KRS-One, Common, and Q-Tip, the three hip-hop artists that are headlining their new initiative, which PRWeek reported on here.

The invite for last night’s event said the doors would open at 7, but at 7:30, me and a gaggle of other people (all designated “VIPs,” most seemingly affiliated with the companies handling the event) were standing on a crazy long line outside the venue in the rain. Not cool at all.

Once inside, Smirnoff made their presence very known with a spotlight image of their logo, the attractive waiters wearing Smirnoff t-shirts and serving Smirnoff drinks, and the Smirnoff logo on the microphone used by the performers.

OK fine, so this is a Smirnoff event (with a “drink responsibly” message that seems to be de rigueur among alcohol companies these days.) Think again. According to KRS-One this was “a cultural event,” one where the acts just happen to say the word “Smirnoff” in every other sentence. To their credit, Smirnoff chose a nice trio of hip-hop performers to help with the initiative. But the hard-sell that they brought to the stage was a little much.

Overall, I would say it was a successful event, even if I do have a cold today. The parting gift bags had Smirnoff logos on them, but the only thing in mine was a bottle of water. Huh?

Speedo recently unveiled its LZR RACER, “the world’s fastest swimsuit” to be worn by U.S. athletes in Beijing, at a theatrical press event. The brand worked with avant-garde fashion label Comme des Garcons and PR agency French West Vaughan; PR agency Brener Zwikel & Associates; and NASA, among others, to design, develop, test, and promote a fashion-forward suit that would produce 10% less drag than any other.

My first takeaway was that swimsuits are a lot more high-tech and dramatic than I had ever imagined. And my second, inspired by a conversation with a German sportswriter reporting from her Florida bureau, was that they can, or should, incite controversy.

The Olympics, a source of national pride - and a coveted showcase for sports apparel brands - is meant to be a competition about ability, not national wealth. But it’s a source of national pride that may or may not be prompted by the American fashion designers, engineers, and marketers that pour energy and money into an “elite” bathing suit, rather than the “elite” body, strength, and strategy that qualify athletes from around the globe. 

Speedo developed the FASTSKIN swimsuit for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, sparking said controversy prior to the games. So it’s interesting that the media, especially in the 2008 blogosphere, has not yet pummeled the issue. Either the current sophistication of Speedo’s PR has outwitted the new media space, or drugs, Darfur, and food safety are filling the holes.

Would love more perspectives. Does the LZR RACER put competing athletes at an unfair advantage? Does the suit provide a “fair advantage” considering a degree of national sovereignty in Olympic rules? How far should technology go to aid an athlete? Is the issue a non-issue?
 

When Meredith publishing president Jack Griffin took the stage this week at a conference and declared, “The Leave it to Beaver America is an ancient relic,” he wasn’t talking about television programming or moral values.

He meant that fewer households are composed of one working, presumably male, parent, mom at home, and an American-made car out front. Thus, many traditional magazines – Meredith publishes Better Homes and Gardens – have had to adjust, to say the least.

That adaptation process has greatly altered the types of editorial employees that Meredith’s publications hire. Sending a chill down the spine of every editor, reporter, and designer over the age of 24, Griffin reportedly remarked, “We don’t hire editors anymore…we hire content strategists.”

Of course, everyone knows that publishers’ priorities, like advertising dollars, are moving online. However, Griffin’s speech is a clarion call to journalists that they should be prepared to learn new skills - or find new employers.

It’s no longer enough for journalists to apply for an editorial position with only tight news-writing skills, flawless knowledge of Associate Press style, and a knack for placement. Tomorrow’s editors will understand Web site management and usability, interactive content, and the business strategies behind the move online.

And that means less time for sorting through press releases and leads, fact-checking, interaction with reporters, calls to sources, and gathering background information – for better or worse.

Hear ye! Hear ye! Robert Peters from Morality in Media has something to say about all you nudie-watchers (about 20 million of you at last count) who’ve been gaping at “The Last Sitting”-style photos in this week’s New York magazine featuring Lindsay Lohan. (Tried to find a link to this press release on the MIM Web site, but didn’t see it.)

It’s soft-core porn. And if you buy Playboy or this week’s issue of New York magazine, you like soft-core porn. It’s not art. Oh no no no. (No mention of what you’re into if you get a subscription like I do. I swear I covered my eyes Bob.)

BUT, Peters saves his most scathing (?) criticism for the kicker:

At least in one area of her life, however, Ms. Lohan has shown phenomenal growth. A quick comparison between her partial nudity photo shoot in the February 2006 Vanity Fair, when she was still a teenager, and the nude photo shoot in the February 2008 New York, will show that her breast size has increased astonishingly. Too bad we can’t say the same for her good sense.”

Need Bob say more?

PS- In case being a good person isn’t your thing, the immoral photos are here.

According to the and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, teenage girls are the ones more actively blogging, social networking, and doing other Web 2.0-y things. I went to a couple of the sites mentioned in the story, and they’re quality sites that communicators should be paying attention to if this is a target market. Women still don’t occupy anywhere near an equitable amount of computer jobs, but perhaps the times they are a-changin.

Cision has released findings that show that advertisers who spent their millions for a 30-second slot during Super Bowl XLII (42 for the non-Romans in the house) got the media attention they hoped for. In total, there were 6,846 broadcast news stories about the ads in the weeks before and after game day, reaching more than 750 million viewers, above and beyond those who tuned in for the event. In 2004, when Cision began monitoring the ads, only 463 news stories were aired. Pepsi and Budweiser came out on top with 1,945 and 1,122 stories respectively. Cision’s release here.

There will be ink…

Numerous outlets, per Radar Online, are claiming to have forced the New York Times‘ hand in publishing about John McCain and his brushes with lobbyists (unsurprisingly, the story hit a double-double - tops on NYT’s most e-mailed and blogged list). McCain’s people blame The New Republic, which it claims is writing an expose on NYT infighting. TNR says, well, “We’re working on something, all right.”

Toshiba likely nailed the coffin for HD DVD today with the announcement that it would no longer develop, manufacture, and market HD DVD players and recorders. A spokesperson for the HD DVD Promotional group told PRWeek, “There’s been no decision on the future of the HD DVD Promotional Group. That’s something partner companies will discuss.” The Promotional Group is deferring to individual member companies, such as Microsoft, Paramount, Universal, and Toshiba, for further comment. “It’s not unusual for the individual companies to respond to news [about the group],” the spokesperson noted. “Each individual company has its own take on the decision.”

His explanation for why Hillary is the candidate to beat (Real Clear Politics)

Karen Tumulty finds some Democrats blame Hillary’s woes on Penn (Time)

Clinton campaign in turmoil? ()

With the launch of its GMNext blog, GM executives, engineers, and communications people appear to have gotten a bit more than they bargained for in their discussion of how GM cars may look and perform in the future.

The site was initially wide open to outside comment and one of the results was a bombardment of criticism from environmental activists groups — of the “corporations are evil” variety, according to Scot Keller, GM’s director of corporate brand communications. The company’s reaction since then could be an interesting case study in how businesses address corporate social responsibility issues through such a volatile medium.

In the main, the company says it aims with the site not to censor but rather address criticism head on.

“We tried to have Beth Lowry, our environmental VP, address their questions,” says Christopher Barger, GM’s director of global communications technology. “They started shouting her down, including with personal attacks. We sort of recognized, ‘OK, we’re being campaigned.’ It’s perfectly legitimate to take control back of your site. So we shut down the public commentary.”

Commentary was blocked in some areas of the blog dealing with environmental issues, though transcripts have been posted of past postings so that visitors can see for themselves what was said. In general, says Barger and Keller, GM has sought to directly tackle the question of whether GMNext and GM environmental initiatives, such as its emphasis on the use of biofuels, are legitimate or merely “greenwashing.”

Going forward, the site – which also includes a wiki devoted to GM’s history and its 100th anniversary – is looking to address a number of the concerns raised in those initial comments through a series of online chats open to discussion by all and featuring GM executives as well as environmental advocacy groups. A discussion planned tomorrow will feature a Hummer designer, for example, while one next week will focus on biofuels.

Barger and Keller and say the company obviously recognizes that it cannot control what people say about what it makes or how it impacts the environment, therefore GM can only engage with the people who care about such issues either on the GM site or other blogs or Web sites as much as possible.”Frankly, there are a lot of uninformed or under-informed people out there,” Keller says. But the fact of the matter is, if we never made an effort to educate them, if we haven’t done that kind of outreach, we can’t blame them for getting it wrong.”